The Phone Call
by Kalira69
Summary: Audrey and Nathan have a very awkward, yet informative, phone conversation, much to the amusement of an eavesdropping Duke. Duke/Nathan, Slash
1. Audrey's Side

**The Phone Call**  
Audrey's Side

* * *

Audrey crossed her arms, frustrated. It seemed like Duke was _always_ on his little boat, but now that she actually _needed_ him - to talk to him, at least - he was nowhere to be found.

She turned and headed off the boat with long strides, only to freeze with one foot just about to land on the plank he used as a ladder.

Well, if she really wanted to talk to him, now, she'd bet that _Nathan_ would know where Duke could be found. Audrey smiled to herself, pulling her phone out and turning her back on the marina. She waited, the annoying ring in her ear echoing for longer than usual, but eventually Nathan picked up.

"Th- This is Nathan." he said, slightly out of breath. "What is it?"

Audrey blinked. Why did he sound like that, anyway?

"Hello?" Nathan said, then waited a moment. There was a sound as if the phone were moving through the air, and Audrey was jerked from her odd - and un_professional_ Audrey, _focus_! - speculations.

"Nathan! Hey, this is Audrey." she managed.

Nathan waited. "…yes? Am I needed- Oh." he stopped with a resigned sigh. "Please tell me there hasn't been another-"

"No! No, no." Audrey insisted, "Um, I just wanted to talk to Duke, you know, see if he had any insights on it, as his boat is almost next door - or whatever - to the last one affected…" she trailed off, taking Nathan's sudden and somehow emphatic silence as a bad sign - and what had that . . . _other_ sound been? "Nathan?"

Nathan sighed. "Yeah, I hear you. So . . . why exactly are you calling me? I would have thought you _wouldn't_ want me around, if you were questioning Duke."

Audrey sighed, looking around at the boat - she firmly told herself that she _hadn't_ just heard Nathan talking in low tones to someone else. Listening in was rude, anyway. "He's not here, and I figured if anyone would know where to find him if he's . . . somewhere _else_, it would be _you_." She left out the fact that that was probably because he had followed Duke on suspicion of something.

"You're on his _boat_?" Nathan repeated, suddenly startled, his voice louder than necessary.

Audrey frowned. "Ye-es… Why? Some reason I shouldn't be?"

"_Stop that!_" Nathan whisper-yelled, but Audrey didn't think it was at her. A moment later she heard a shakily indrawn breath and the phone hitting something soft - like a pillow, her mind suggested instantly. She quashed it and debated hanging up.

Before she could, however, Nathan came back on the line. "Uh, no, I don't suppose so…" he replied uncertainly. "I'm sorry… I don't know where he might be if he's not there. You might - ah - leave him a note or something?' he suggested fuzzily.

Audrey hummed. "I suppose so. I really ought to get his phone number, I guess…"

Nathan grumbled something half-audibly. Audrey thought it was, "I can't help you there."

She sighed. "Um, Nathan?" she said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" he answered, his voice a little strained.

Audrey suppressed a laugh she was perilously afraid might come out as a giggle. "Tell . . . whoever that is, that I'm sorry to have . . . interrupted, 'kay?"

There was a sound that Audrey thought was laughter - smothered laughter, but it sounded as though it was a _man's_ voice. And definitely _not_ Nathan's. Hmm…

Nathan cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks."

Audrey spoke again, impulsively - she almost wanted to kick herself when she heard her own voice, but… "Is that a man's voice, Nathan?"

Nathan groaned, but he answered quickly enough. "Yes." he spoke shortly, and Audrey thought he might hang up before… There was a slight, near-inaudible murmur, and then Nathan groaned again.

"He says 'thanks' as well, and that you're forgiven, as long as you don't make a habit of interrupting us." Nathan quoted, attempting to be toneless.

Audrey opened her mouth, but there was another, slightly more insistent murmur, and then Nathan continued, "All right, all right! He says that we get little enough time because of work anyway, without it calling me up. Sorry." he added, though Audrey wasn't sure if he was addressing _her_, or . . . whoever that was.

"Okay. I'll try not to." Audrey said. She supposed it would be unbearably rude to . . . _ask_? Yes, it would. Pity. "Sorry. Bye, Nathan. See you at work tomorrow."

There was a pause, punctuated by a gasp. "Y- yeah. Bye, Audrey." The connection terminated, and Audrey gave in to that giggle.

She left a note, as suggested, for Duke, telling him that she wanted to talk to him - strictly as a possible witness in her latest investigation - and then left. As she headed back to her car, she found herself wondering if _Duke_ knew anything about the mysterious man who had been with Nathan…

~Fin, Part I~


	2. Nathan's Side

**The Phone Call**  
Nathan's Side

* * *

Nathan's hands twined - he suspected slightly _too_ hard - in his lover's hair as he arched his neck, baring more of it to that hot mouth. He forced his fingers to relax, sliding his hands down - only to realise that, unlike himself, his lover was still fully clothed.

Nathan frowned, pulling back to tug at the offending shirt, and then heard a sound that- Damn. That was his phone - and probably either the Chief or Audrey.

He leaned back, snatching the phone off his bedside table and answering it - it took a bit longer than usual, what with- "Let _go_!" he hissed just before he brought the phone to his ear. "Th-" he stopped, drawing in a tight breath at the sudden reappearance of clever fingers at his hips.

"This is Nathan. What is it?" he said, struggling to control his voice and sound as normal as possible. He spared a thought to hope that it wasn't the Chief - he had enough problems already, he didn't need to add this one.

There was a long, silent pause. "Hello?" he asked, wondering why the hell someone would call him as a prank. As he was pondering this, he was forced to fight for his phone, and he only just managed to tug it back up to his ear in time to hear the delayed response.

"Nathan!" Audrey's voice sounded a little . . . off, somehow. Nathan wondered what was up. "Hey, this is Audrey." she added, unnecessarily.

Nathan nodded, knowing she couldn't see him, and waited for the explanation. None was forthcoming. "…yes?" he prompted. "Am I needed-" he stopped. Oh, _damn_, not another… "Please tell me there hasn't been another-"

Before he could finish his question about the latest unnatural 'attack', Audrey responded. "No! No, no." Nathan wondered why she was being so emphatic. "Um, I just wanted to," she sounded awfully hesitant, Nathan thought, a hint of dread curling through him. "talk to Duke, you know, see if he had any insights on it, as his boat is almost next door - or whatever - to the last one affected…"

The dread softened, but didn't go away. _Oh, please don't be fixating on Duke…_ he thought, absently shoving Duke's head off his own shoulder, where he had been trying to listen in, with some amusement.

"Nathan?" Audrey sounded puzzled, and a little suspicious.

_Probably putting a few things together from the sounds - he hasn't exactly been silent._ Nathan thought. He ignored the tone of her voice - no point addressing the thoughts she was likely entertaining unless he had to - and responded, with a sigh. "Yeah, I hear you."

After a moment, he realised that there was something a little odd with this phone call on _her_ end, as well. "So . . . why exactly are you calling me?" he asked curiously.

"_Hush._" Nathan insisted quietly to his snickering lover, who looked as if he might make a suggestion as to precisely _why_ she was calling. Technically, he _was_ on call, but he couldn't see why she wanted him… "I would have thought you _wouldn't_ want me around, if you were questioning Duke."

Audrey sighed. It had that tone Nathan was used to from women who were exasperated - specifically with him. "He's not _here_, and I figured if anyone would know where to find him if he's . . . somewhere _else_, it would be _you_."

Nathan wondered why - probably his general suspicion of Duke. Perhaps she thought he kept constant tabs on the man, or something. Nathan pushed Duke's hand away from his jeans and sighed silently - if only she knew how much of his suspicion was well-justified by Duke's own actions.

Suddenly, something Audrey had said hit him. "You're on his _boat_?" he demanded, bracing himself to keep Duke from grabbing the phone away.

"She's on my boat?" Duke whispered, incredulous. "When I'm not _there_? How rude!"

"Yes…" Audrey responded slowly, "Why? Some reason I shouldn't be?"

"Yes! Bad manners, you know." Duke snapped.

"_Stop_ that!" Nathan insisted, voice low. Duke dropped his verbal protest in favour of grasping Nathan's wrist and sucking on the sensitive inside of his forearm. Nathan dropped the phone reflexively, but Duke was too absorbed in teasing his lover's arm with his tongue to care about the phone.

Nathan forced himself to focus and grabbed the phone off his down comforter, where it had landed. A part of him hoped that Audrey had heard the noise and hung up, but he answered her question anyway - at least, he hoped he was intelligibly answering one of her questions. "Uh, no, I don't suppose so…" he trailed off as Duke raised his head and scowled slightly.

"I'm sorry… I don't know where he might be if he's not there." Nathan told her, feeling a slight twinge at the blatant lie as Duke smirked. "You might," he paused, groaning quietly as Duke kissed his stomach. "leave him a note . . . or something?"

Nathan hoped his voice didn't betray his distraction too badly. Apparently it didn't, as Audrey merely made a thoughtful noise before responding. "I suppose so." she said consideringly. "I really ought to get his phone number, I guess…"

She trailed off, and Nathan felt a resurgence of his determined hope that she would _not_ start clinging to Duke. "I can't help you with that." Nathan huffed quietly. After a moment, he hoped that she hadn't heard.

"Um, Nathan?" she asked, her voice tentative.

He sighed, then stiffened with tension as Duke leaned back down over his chest, apparently having undone his jeans while he was preoccupied. "Yeah?" he managed, attempting to control his breathing as one of Duke's hands lingered just inside his now-open zipper.

Audrey made an odd coughing sound. "Tell," she paused for a long moment, and Nathan was confused. "whoever that is, that I'm sorry to have . . . interrupted, 'kay?"

Nathan covered his face with his free hand, and had to clear his throat before he could speak again. His embarrassment was only deepened by Duke, now laughing into his bare shoulder, having overheard Audrey's odd apology. "Uh, thanks."

It was an odd thing to say, perhaps, but it seemed to be appropriate - as much as anything in this conversation was, in any case.

Rather than hanging up, Audrey spoke up again, sounding almost rushed. "Is that a _man's_ voice, Nathan?" she asked.

Nathan made an unintelligible noise that he thought might have been intended as a curse, but decided to answer truthfully anyway. "Yes." was all he got out before Duke pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Tell her thanks from me as well, and she's forgiven, far's I'm concerned. As long as she doesn't do it too often. I don't get you away from work often enough as it is, I don't need her calling you for help - in locating _me_, no less - whenever I _do_ manage it." Duke told him firmly. Nathan laughed - it came out more frustration than humour, but it was a laugh, nonetheless.

Nathan repeated most of Duke's response to Audrey, trying very hard not to let his laughter disrupt the odd communication.

Duke pushed himself up with palms braced on Nathan's chest. "Hey! Tell her the rest!" he insisted, frowning.

Nathan glared up at Duke, but recognised the particular set of his lover's mouth, and capitulated. "All right, all right!" he sighed.

"He says that we get little enough time because of work anyway, without it calling me up. Sorry." he added, looking up at Duke with an only slightly exaggerated pathetic look. Duke relented, as he had hoped, but didn't settle back down, electing to strip off his shirt instead. Nathan found he was all right with this tradeoff.

"Okay." Audrey told him, with a touch of hesitance in her tone. "I'll try not to." she promised. "Sorry. Bye, Nathan. See you at work tomorrow?"

Nathan gasped as Duke stretched out over him again, the heat of his lover's chest now sinking into his own skin without any barriers. He remembered, after a moment, that he was still technically in a phone conversation.

"Y-" he paused, making sure he remembered her question well enough. Had it been a question? Probably not. Oh, well. "Yeah. Bye, Audrey."

Duke pulled the phone from his hand and flicked it shut. Nathan suspected he should be upset at that presumptuous action. Or at least pretend to be upset.

Instead, he reached up and tugged Duke down to kiss him properly, arching his hips to drag over his lover's - only to be reminded that unzipped jeans were not the best attire for such an action.

Duke hissed in reaction anyway, and then dealt with the jeans and soothed the slight sting away with soft lips, so Nathan categorised it as a success anyway. Then he bent his attention to discarding Duke's own jeans, feeling they had been put off quite long enough already.

Audrey could just damn well wait til tomorrow, and so could the psycho fish mobbing boats, as long as they weren't hurting anyone.

~Fin~


End file.
